Update: Marcie Blane is Still Alive; Impostor Who Passed Herself Off As Singer For 30 Years Has Died

The Santa Monica Observer has printed a retraction and an explanation, saying that "An elderly homeless woman named Mildred Goldman aka Mildred Maxwell died at USC--LA County Hospital on October 9th, 2017. During the last 30 or so years, she succeeded in convincing people that she was Marcie Blane, singer of "Bobby's Girl" which was a hit in 1962. The truth is, Mildred Maxwell was someone else. (BTW, she also told people that her dead husband, Arthur Maxwell, had been the heir to the Maxwell House Coffee fortune. We should've known right then)."

Marcie Blane, who had a huge hit in 1962 with "Bobby's Girl", has died at the age of 75.

The Santa Monica Observer reported her death on Sunday (October 29), saying that she had died on October 9 at Cedar's Sinai. According to the article, the County of Los Angles has since been looking for a next of kin and said that Ms. Blane did not have enough money to her name for a burial.

Born Marcia Blank on May 21, 1944 in Brooklyn, she was one of four children. Her father was a professional musician and Marcie learned the piano and was playing in the Catskills by her mid-teens.

Late in her senior year at Jamaica High School in 1961, she was asked by a friend to record a demo for a song he had written. While at the studio, Marv Holtzman, the A&R man for Seville Records, heard Marcie sing and signed her to a contract. The first song that he found for her to record was "Bobby's Girl".

By December of 1961, the record had gone to number 3 in the country and Seville rushed the followup, "What Does a Girl Do" to the market, only to see it stall at number 82.

Blane continued to record for Seville through 1965 but they were never able to find a song that would have the success as her very first hit. While she enjoyed music, she didn't enjoy the business and wouldn't record again.

Post-music, Marcie went to Queens College and became a teacher.

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2 comments

Tom D.
said...

This is an impostor. I'm sorry she's passed, but it's not the singer. I see the original article has been taken down, as well, as they apparently found out the truth.

Marcie Blane was born Marcia Blank, daughter of Muriel Shalit and Ernest Blank. She had 3 siblings, 2 of whom are still alive.

Marcia Blank was born May 5, 1944, not May 21st.

Marcie didn't record a demo *for* Seville Records, she recorded multiple demos for a friend of hers, who passed them along to the president of Seville, who liked her voice.

Marcie did not leave the music business because a producer pressured her for sex, she left because the music business wasn't for her, and she was unable to come up with another hit. She decided instead to focus on her education, and retired from music when her recording career was up.

Marcie did not become a gemologist and did not move to Colorado. She stayed in Queens, got a career in education, married (and later divorced) Larry Zimmerman, and had two children with him (who have given her four grandchildren). The real Marcie Blane is still alive and well.